10 months Etta celebrated her ten month birthday by suddenly crawling across the floor in a classic all-fours crawl, and pulling herself to standing in her playpen for the first time. The look of excitement on her face and her squeals of joy as she performed her new tricks was most precious of all. Now she could gum the playpen rail, reach the buttons on the VCR, make a dash for the cat food dish, take a bite out of the couch cushions, and bang on the stereo cabinet – all of which she did immediately. Cutting Teeth At the beginning of the month Etta had three teeth on the bottom and one crooked tooth up top. In just three days she’d added two more on top and another on the bottom, with much chewing, drooling, and whimpering. By the end of the month she’d cut her 8th tooth. Just one corner is out, and like the others on top, it’s coming in at a severe angle. She has a very funny looking toothy grin, and she’s learning to ham it up for the camera, flashing her pearly whites with great drama. I brush her teeth every night before bed, and so far she enjoys it. First I’ll brush mine, with her on my lap watching excitedly, then I get her ultra-soft, round-headed toothbrush, put a dew drop of baby toothpaste on it, and she’ll jut her chin forward, peeling back her lips like a horse and barring her teeth in anticipation. I run the brush quickly along her teeth and back gums, and then she grabs the brush and wants to do it herself. She chews on the bristles for a moment, pulls the brush out of her mouth to look intently at it, pops it back in for some sucking, and smiles while looking up at me with pride. Toy Talents Etta has a set of Lego Primo bricks which I got at a garage sale and she loves to take them out of the bin one at a time, and then collect them up and put them back in. She also attempts to stack them, but can’t get them to nest properly. When I see her concentrating on stacking them, I divert her to a set of stuffed cloth blocks which she can easily manipulate. Although she loves to knock towers down, she is also good at building them – she’s stacked two blocks creating a tower three blocks high, without any assistance from me. Perhaps she’ll be crazy for puzzles, mazes, and construction toys like I was (and still am). Highchair Hellion This week Etta began a new game in the highchair: flinging her back against the padded backrest repeatedly with great force to make the highchair scoot across the floor. She went absolutely wild doing this, squealing as if she were on a scary amusement park ride. In an attempt to break her of this habit (which makes it even more difficult to feed her and puts her at a danger of choking when she has food in her mouth) I placed a metal cookie sheet behind her back so she couldn’t bounce off the upholstery, but she soon learned that the metal made for a great percussion instrument and she banged against it with the back of her head with renewed vigor. Now that she has opposing teeth she’s learned to use them to bite things. When she eats Cheerios she’ll pick one up, delicately bite it in half while holding it between her thumb and forefinger, eat half, and drop the other half to the floor. At the end of her meal the floor is littered with half Cheerios. She also enjoys biting down on the spoon and not letting go, further complicating mealtimes. Hands and Feet Etta can pull herself to standing with great speed now, not even concentrating on placing her feet or hoisting herself up. After just two weeks of practice, it’s automatic. She’s also starting to "cruise" around the perimeter of her playpen. When on hands and knees on the floor, she’ll briefly lift her knees, so that only her feet and hands are touching the floor and her back and legs make an arch. She hangs her head down between her outstretched arms and looks back at her legs, curious at her position. Laughing Etta has cultivated a curious laugh, almost like a hyena’s cry. It emerges spontaneously most of the time, leaving us to wonder what she finds so humorous. It is also different from the hearty laugh she gives when I crawl after her in a game of chase, or when make silly faces. Bonding with Lovey For several weeks I’ve been trying to get Etta attached to a security blanket, something that she can take to bed with her that could provide her comfort and possibly help her back to sleep when she wakes. While at a toy store this week I found the perfect solution: a blanket doll. There are several on the market, and there were a few different kinds in the store, but the one that now shares a bed with Etta is in my opinion the best in the world. It is a Käthe Kruse blanket doll, from Germany, and is carefully hand crafted of the softest cotton flannel. It has a sweetly embroidered face, a delicate lace collar, and knots at the corners of the cloth body which fit perfectly in Etta’s hands. The blanket doll lives in Etta’s crib, coming out only to join her as she nurses. I tuck the blanket doll between Etta and my body and she fondles it as she nurses. She likes to bring the doll up to her face as she nurses, as if she’s going to share the nipple with her, and then she puts the doll up to my lips so I can give the doll a kiss. The doll absorbs my scent and when Etta is finished nursing I transfer her, still clinging the doll, into her crib. When she wakes she often talks to her doll, sucks on the knots, or "kisses" (wet, wide open mouth) the doll’s face. Pony Ride Etta hadn’t been in a saddle since Alaska, when she cried when the horse moved. At my husband’s company picnic at Remlinger farms there were miniature pony rides and I couldn’t resist trying Etta in the saddle when she squealed with delight at the sight of the tiny horse (she probably thought it was a dog). Etta had matured greatly in two months, or else she felt more comfortable on the smaller steed, because she loved being on that pony’s back. The handler lead the pony out on a grassy area (instead of the wooded trail used for the older kids) where I could easily walk alongside and hold on to Etta as she sat in the saddle. Etta smiled and bobbed her head in rhythm, eyes wide and sparkling. When it was time for the next child’s turn and I had to take Etta off she cried and clung to the pony’s mane, not wanting to be separated from her new friend. "There’s a horse in this girl’s future," the pony’s handler proclaimed A close call I was lying on the couch, incapacitated by a migraine headache, while Etta played on the carpet below. I had my eyes closed most of the time, knowing the barricade of low bookcases (that my husband had reinforced with long wooden "feet" to prevent tipping) would keep Etta contained. Every once in awhile I heard a "thunk" as Etta banged one of her toys against the bookcase shelves, but soon I surrendered to resting and no longer looked up every time she made a noise. Then, for some reason I occurred to me that it was awfully quiet, so I opened my eyes and noticed that one of the shelves was crooked, and Etta was contentedly chewing something. When Etta noticed that I was looking at her she gave a wide smile, revealing her gold tooth. Gold tooth? I leapt from the couch and swept my finger through her mouth in an instant, popping out a gold-colored stud that fit in the bracket supporting the shelving. I was stunned that Etta not only had the dexterity to remove the stud, but the thought to lift the shelf up in order to get to it. I then removed all the shelves and supporting studs, leaving just the shell of the bookcases. |
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